Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating homosexualsand Christianity too wide to cross? How can the Bible be used to justify hate? These are thequestions at the heart of Daniel Karslake’s FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.

A World Premiere in competition at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO was also honored with Audience Awards at the 2007 Seattle and ProvincetownInternational Film Festivals and The Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights at the 2007 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. This provocative, entertaining film concisely reconciles homosexuality and a literal interpretation of Biblical scripture.

Through the experiences of five very Christian, very American -- we discover how people of faith handle, or sometimes tragically fail to handle, having a gay child. Informed by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard's Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and

sexual identity.

Karslake’s biggest challenge was finding a family of color to interview. “I did not want every family in the film to be white,” he said recently. Karslake had heard about an organization called the Point Foundation, which helped gay kids who had been kicked out of their family unit secure funds for college. He saw Tonia Poteat’s picture in a Point Foundation brochure, and then went through a Point Foundation supporter, Michael Huffington, who would become an executive producer of FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO, to contact her. “Tonia ‘s parents were both preachers, so I knew they were exactly the kind of family I was looking for,” Karslake recalled recently. ” Though they were initially wary of having their family story told on screen, Tonia’s parents felt comfortable with Karslake and agreed to be a part of the movie. “I’ve fallen in love with all of the families in the film,” Karslake reports, “but I have a huge amount of respect for how honest and forthright the Poteats were with me. When Brenda Poteat shares that she was hung up on the sex, I really think she speaks for 80% of Americans and what being gay first means to them. Coming from her, that’s a huge breakthrough.”

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER

For six years, Daniel Karslake has been an award-winning producer for the highly acclaimed newsmagazine, “In the Life,” which airs nationally on PBS in over 120 markets. Recognition for his outstanding work for the show, which has centered primarily on issues regarding religion and homosexuality, includes an Emmy nomination from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, as well as praise from GLAAD and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. Prior to his producing career, Mr. Karslake was a fundraising and development executive, raising money for organizations such as The Riverside Church in New York, City of Hope National

Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute in Los Angeles, and the library system for University of Southern California where he attended the USC School of Cinema-Television. He graduated cum laude from Duke University with a B.A. in Public Policy Studies.